5.7.19

Thot planted drugs at rest area for prison litter crew to deliver to inmates

A woman who planted drugs at a highway rest area for inmates working on a road crew to smuggle into prison is now behind bars, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, or SCDOC.

Jahbrisha Marie Ebony Pennick left marijuana, tobacco and other contraband at a rest area off Interstate 26 for it to be picked up by an inmate from MacDougall Correctional Institution who was working on a litter crew, SCDOC said in a news release.

The plan was for that inmate to sneak the drugs into the prison, where it would be delivered to another inmate, according to the news release.

On May 31, the 31-year-old Ladson resident left the drugs at an abandoned rest stop for an inmate, who was caught in possession of marijuana and tobacco, an arrest warrant shows.

SCDOC officers listened to recorded phone calls between the Charleston-area woman and an inmate and learned Pennick had left packages at the rest area to be picked up by another prisoner on May 23 and 31, and was planning to make another drop on June 21, according to an arrest warrant.

Armed with this information, the June 21 package was found by law enforcement, an arrest warrant shows.

Pennick was arrested Monday and charged with distribution of marijuana, criminal conspiracy and two counts of introducing contraband into MacDougall Correctional Institution, SCDOC said in the news release.

The Ridgeville prison is a medium-security institution for men, and one of the community services it offers to the Department of Transportation is an inmate labor crew that picks up trash along interstate highways, under the supervision of correctional officers, according to the SCDOC.

More charges could be filed as the case continues to be investigated, SCDOC said